ELECTROMECHANICAL POWER FOR ELECTRONICS

MAN-PORTABLE ELECTRONICS EQUIPMENT SUCH AS THE MINI GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM RECEIVER IS CURRENTLY POWERED BY HEAVY CHEMICAL BATTERIES. A WIND-UP SPRING DEVICE, CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 4W AT 12V FOR 5 MIN AT ONE WINDING, WOULD BE A DESIRABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR BATTERIES. UNFORTUNATELY, CALCULATIONS SHOW THAT THE WEIGHT AND BULK OF A SPRING MECHANISM WOULD BE UNACCEPTABLE. INSTEAD, A SMALL, HIGHLY EFFICIENT FLYWHEEL AND GENERATOR COMBINATION IS PROPOSED. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WEIGHS APPROXIMATELY 5 LBS AND IS ABOUT 6 IN. IN THE LONGEST DIMENSION. THE FLYWHEEL, WHICH ROTATES IN A CHAMBER THAT IS EVACUATED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN THE FLYWHEEL IS SPUN UP MANUALLY, STORES MORE THAN ENOUGH ENERGY TO MEET SPECIFICATIONS. THE SYSTEM IS RELIABLE, RUGGED, AND CAPABLE OF BEING "RECHARGED" IN THE FIELD INDEFINITELY. IN ADDITION, IT INCORPORATES STANDBY MEASURES WHICH MAKE THE SYSTEM READY FOR INSTANT USE WITH NO WAITING WHATSOEVER.